Sheriff: 'Gangsters' arrested in year-old murder caused by Mojo

DONALDSONVILLE - An emphatic sheriff chastised drug users in an afternoon news conference Wednesday where it was revealed a murdered teen died after being beaten up during a drug-induced brawl.

Four people were arrested in the case, the most significant development since Brandon Augusta was found dead behind a levee along the Mississippi River in this quiet Ascension Parish town in 2014. His body was beaten so badly, it took time to positively identify. Eventually, dental records were used to identify the body as the missing 15-year-old high school freshman.

Ascension Parish Sheriff Jeffrey Wiley said Augusta got high on a synthetic drug called Mojo and got into a fight with others. Investigators were tipped off to new information about the case recently and arrested four people, the sheriff said. Of the four, two are juveniles and Wiley asked that they be tried as adults.

Sheriff: synthetic pot is the most dangerous drug we are dealing with today. @WBRZ

The juveniles were not identified, but the sheriff said the two adults arrested in connection with the case are Marcus Ester, 21, and Tyrell Williams, 18. Ester has been arrested 21 times before being charged with first degree murder, the sheriff said.

The two juveniles were already in jail for other offenses and are in the process of being moved from the juvenile facility in Monroe.

A WBRZ news crew will have more on this developing story all afternoon beginning on WBRZ News 2 at 4 p.m. Check back for updates on this page.**************Follow the publisher of this post on Twitter: @treyschmaltz